Great people, great training, great entry level opportunity to get into recruiting and sales. If you are successful you will make more here than about anywhere else. Performing Recruiters are making $55k-$75k. Great Recruiters are making $100k+. Every large office has salespeople making $200k-$400k. Culture is 100% committed and generally cool type-A's you would want to have a beer with. The skills, drive, and sense of urgency you learn at Aerotek serve you well anywhere you may go later.

Cons

If you are just looking for a low-commitment 8-5 job while posting on social media about where you are partying that night...you will not like Aerotek. Success requires an all in approach both in work ethic and active support of the culture. That is not for everyone. There are Political Science grads 3 years out of college making $200k+, but there is a price to be paid. All the tough work comes first. If you are not up for the level of work and commitment, Aerotek is not for you. If you are, none of this is really a "con"

As far a real cons go, the benefits are only OK, and finding work/life balance is pretty difficult.

-The main thing that made my time at Aerotek so valuable was the absolutely awesome group of Recruiters and Account Managers. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed getting to know all of my coworkers; I'd be hard-pressed to pin down a single person in "The Pit" that I wouldn't feel comfortable approaching for any help, whether it be regarding work, or personal life.

-The high intensity work environment really pushed me to be the best I could be. The (VERY) high feedback culture is definitely not for everybody, but if you are the type of person that wants to improve at the fastest rate possible through direct confrontation, this is a great place to get yourself kicked into gear.

-Lots of perks including snacks/coffee in the office, free lunches when you meet with contractors/candidates, and an occasional office bonding trip somewhere in town.

Cons

-This was my first job out of college, so to be fair, I don't have any previous experience to base things on. However, I can say that for me personally, the hours were the toughest part of the job. 12-hour days were common, giving me no time to have any sort of social life outside of the office during the week.

-"Process" of firing employees (see below).

Advice to Management

When I was let go from Aerotek, it was done very unprofessionally. I was pulled into a room completely out of the blue, and told that it was my last day. This alone would be understandable, but they wouldn't even let me go back into the office to clean up my desk or grab my extra belongings (I'm still in touch with a former co-worker to bring me back my coffee mug and water bottle). In addition, I had a lunch interview scheduled with a candidate for 30 minutes later, and multiple others that week. They took my computer away so I couldn't tie up any loose ends, with no way to inform these people that I would no longer be able to meet with them (I still met with the candidate I was scheduled to interview later that day, since he drove over an hour to get there. I had to take notes on a brown bag since my laptop and notebook were both taken from me back at the office. You're welcome for keeping your reputation intact, Aerotek). For a company whose motto is "Our People Are Everything", this was quite a pitiful showing of ignorance toward both me and the candidates I was working with.

Here's my advice: Have some respect for the people that have put blood sweat and tears into your company. I know I wasn't by any means a top performer, but I did my very best from day 1 and I got kicked to the curb with absolutely no warning or opportunity to plan for my next step. In a business with such high turnover, leaving all former employees with a bad taste in their mouth will bite you down the road.

I've been with the company for 3 years and feel like my professionalism and work ethic stands out among the peers I've graduated with. Aerotek allows you the ability to grow in so many different areas including sales, account management, HR/Interviewing, customer service, and leadership. Aerotek pushes you to be best you can be and everyone on the team truly cares about your success. The people and work culture is amazing with a very high ceiling.

Cons

It's not a 40 hour a week job - it's a little closer to 50-55 hours per week.